Wide area communications network for remote data generating stations
First Claim
1. A data collection system for data collection from a plurality of meters comprising:
- a) a plurality of telemetry devices, each of the telemetry devices being associated with a selected meter and including;
i) a sensor to measure a parameter at a series of measurement time to generate a series of successive measurements,ii) a first memory configured to store a plurality of measurements from said series of successive measurements, andiii) a transmitter to transmit said plurality of stored measurements to a collection device at a series of transmission times, each of said stored measurements transmitted at a plurality of different transmission times; and
b) a plurality of collection devices, there being fewer collection devices than telemetry devices, said collection devices including;
i) a receiver to receive transmissions from a subset of said plurality of telemetry devices,ii) a processor for extracting said series of successive measurements from a series of said transmissions and analyzing said series of successive measurements to generate a metered function of said parameter, the processor for comparing a message number of the current transmission to a message number of the previous transmission,iii) a second memory configured to store data representing telemetry devices from which the respective collection device receives transmissions, the data storing a receipt time of a previous transmission from said telemetry device,iv) a clock for determining a receipt time of a current transmission from a telemetry device, andv) a transmitter to transmit said metered function to a monitoring station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A wide area communications network communicating data from a plurality of network service modules through a plurality of remote cell nodes and intermediate data terminals to a central data terminal. The wide area communicates network collects network generated by a plurality of physical devices such as gas, water or electricity meters, located within a geographical area. The wide area communications network is a layered network have a hierarchical communications topology. The central data terminal controls network operation. Intelligence exists at all layers of the network, thereby easing the workload of the central data terminal. The intelligence attributed to each module is a function of the application of that module.
339 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A data collection system for data collection from a plurality of meters comprising:
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a) a plurality of telemetry devices, each of the telemetry devices being associated with a selected meter and including; i) a sensor to measure a parameter at a series of measurement time to generate a series of successive measurements, ii) a first memory configured to store a plurality of measurements from said series of successive measurements, and iii) a transmitter to transmit said plurality of stored measurements to a collection device at a series of transmission times, each of said stored measurements transmitted at a plurality of different transmission times; and b) a plurality of collection devices, there being fewer collection devices than telemetry devices, said collection devices including; i) a receiver to receive transmissions from a subset of said plurality of telemetry devices, ii) a processor for extracting said series of successive measurements from a series of said transmissions and analyzing said series of successive measurements to generate a metered function of said parameter, the processor for comparing a message number of the current transmission to a message number of the previous transmission, iii) a second memory configured to store data representing telemetry devices from which the respective collection device receives transmissions, the data storing a receipt time of a previous transmission from said telemetry device, iv) a clock for determining a receipt time of a current transmission from a telemetry device, and v) a transmitter to transmit said metered function to a monitoring station. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method of collecting data related to a metered commodity comprising the steps of:
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a) measuring a parameter with a telemetry device at a series of measurement times to generate a series of successive measurements, the telemetry device being operably coupled to a meter; b) storing a plurality of said measurements in said telemetry device; c) generating a new number in said telemetry device each time a measurement is generated, d) transmitting said stored measurements and transmitting said new number with said stored measurements to a collection device at a series of transmission times; e) storing an old number in said collection device; f) comparing said old number to said new number at said collection device to determine which measurements are new measurements which were not previously received by said collection device and whether there are missing measurements; g) extracting said series of successive measurements from a series of said transmissions with said collection device; h) analyzing said series of successive measurements to generate a metered function of said parameter with said collection device; and i) transmitting said metered function to a monitoring station. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification